Pacific coast theater of the American Civil War facts for kids
During the American Civil War, the Pacific Coast Theater included military actions in states and territories west of the Continental Divide. This area covered California, Oregon, Nevada, and the territories of Washington, Utah, and later Idaho.
Most of the military actions by Union volunteer troops, mainly from California and Oregon, were against Indigenous American groups. Union and Confederate armies rarely fought each other directly in this region, except in New Mexico Territory. However, Union forces did work to stop Confederate supporters and irregular fighters in California. They also set up strong military bases in Southern California and southern New Mexico Territory to control areas where many people supported the Confederacy.
Confederate warships, known as commerce raiders, sailed in the Pacific Ocean. But they didn't manage to stop trade with the Eastern United States. The last Confederate ship, CSS Shenandoah, fired the final shot of the war in the Bering Sea off Alaska. The Confederacy tried to buy or capture ships for raiding on the West Coast, but Union officials and the Pacific Squadron stopped these plans.
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Secession Worries on the West Coast
After Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860, some people in California who supported the South wanted California and Oregon to leave the United States. They hoped to form a new country called the "Pacific Republic."
Their plan depended on Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston, who was in charge of all Federal troops in the Pacific region. Johnston met with some of these Southern supporters. But he told them he would defend the forts and weapons storage areas under his command with all his might. He warned them to tell their friends that he would fight against any attempt to seize these places.
Without Johnston's help, the plans for California and Oregon to leave the Union failed. Union supporters worried about Johnston's loyalty and asked Washington to replace him. Edwin Vose Sumner was sent to take over Johnston's command in March 1861. Johnston resigned and moved to Los Angeles.
In March 1861, the new Arizona Territory voted to join the Confederacy. This made Union officials even more worried that Southern California might try to break away and join the Confederacy. Many people in Southern California had already voted to separate from the rest of California in 1859. Also, there were many Confederate supporters in the area forming their own local militias.
Fighting Against Confederate Supporters
War Begins in California
Securing Southern California
When the Civil War started, it looked like Southern California might try to secede. Many people there wanted to separate from California. Groups of local militias who supported the Confederacy had formed. Even the Bear Flag, a symbol of an earlier California revolt, was flown by Confederate supporters in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.
After news of the Battle of Fort Sumter reached California, Confederate supporters held public demonstrations. Only San Diego had a small Union military base. However, when three companies of Federal cavalry moved into Los Angeles in May–June 1861, the idea of secession quickly became impossible.
General Johnston, suspected by Union authorities, avoided arrest. He joined a Confederate-leaning militia, the Los Angeles Mounted Rifles, as a private. He left California on May 27, traveling across the deserts to Texas.
Other Confederate-leaning groups, like the Monte Mounted Rifles, also had their plans stopped. A shipment of weapons meant for them was held up by army officers, preventing them from becoming active.
Major William Scott Ketchum was put in charge of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Santa Barbara counties. He quickly moved troops into the area. By late August, his soldiers were near San Bernardino, reinforced by cavalry and a cannon.
Despite some small attacks on his camp, Ketchum's forces stopped any major uprising from Confederate supporters. A show of force by the cavalry in San Bernardino during the September elections also quieted a Confederate demonstration. Union commanders relied on local Union-supporting militias and Captain Clarence E. Bennett to help control pro-Southern San Bernardino County.
On September 25, the District of Southern California was created. Its first base was Camp Latham, near Los Angeles, later moved to Drum Barracks. This district was formed to control the large number of Confederate sympathizers in Southern California. It also included Tulare County to the north, which was much larger back then.
From Camp Latham, regular soldiers were replaced by California Volunteers in October. These volunteers set up Camp Carleton and later Camp Morris in San Bernardino County. Other volunteer troops were sent to Camp Wright in San Diego County. Their job was to watch the southern route into California from Fort Yuma and stop Confederate sympathizers from traveling east to join the Confederate Army.
In March 1862, most troops at Camp Latham moved to Camp Drum. A small group remained to watch Los Angeles. After floods damaged Camp Carleton, the soldiers moved to New Camp Carleton, near the Confederate stronghold of El Monte. Union military bases remained in Southern California for the rest of the Civil War.
California Column Campaign
In early 1862, the California Column, made up of California Volunteer Regiments, began a campaign. They moved east into Confederate Arizona to remove Confederate forces from southern New Mexico Territory and West Texas.
California units stayed in these areas as garrisons, fighting against the Navajo, Comanche, and Apache tribes. They remained until Federal Troops replaced them in 1866. In 1865, the military control of Arizona Territory was moved from the Department of New Mexico to the Department of the Pacific.
Pacific Squadron Operations
The Union Navy had to block Confederate ports, so they didn't have many ships to protect the Pacific Coast. The Pacific Squadron remained small. One ship was always stationed at Panama City to protect the gold shipments coming from the Pacific. The other ships patrolled the coast between Panama and British Columbia as needed. Mare Island Naval Shipyard in San Francisco Bay was the Squadron's main base.
Pacific Coastal Defenses
To protect Union ports, especially San Francisco Bay (where gold and silver from the Pacific Coast were shipped), new forts were built or improved. Coastal forts were built at Fort Point and Camp Sumner near the Presidio. Another fort, Fort Baker, was built on the Marin Headlands.
One famous Civil War-era fort was Post of Alcatraz Island (or Fort Alcatraz). Located on a rocky island in the Golden Gate, it served as a prison for Confederate sympathizers. Later, it became the well-known Federal prison. San Francisco Bay was also protected by the Benicia Arsenal, Fort Mason, and Camp Reynolds on Angel Island.
At the mouth of the Columbia River, two forts were built. In 1862, a camp called Post at Cape Disappointment (later Fort Cape Disappointment) was set up in Washington Territory. Fortifications and cannons were installed to guard the river's entrance. In 1863, Fort at Point Adams (later Fort Stevens) was established in Oregon on the south bank of the Columbia River, serving the same purpose.
Other military posts existed or were created at ports like San Diego, San Pedro Bay, Santa Barbara, Noyo, and Humboldt Bay in California. Also, Fort Vancouver in what is now Washington state had a post. In 1864, Santa Catalina Island was taken over by Federal forces. A military post was set up there, and the local population was moved to prevent the island from being used by privateers (private ships authorized to attack enemy shipping).
After the failure of the New Mexico campaign, the Confederate Navy tried to seize gold and silver for the Confederacy or attack Union trade ships in the Pacific Ocean.
J. M. Chapman Plot
In 1863, Asbury Harpending and other Confederate supporters in San Francisco planned to turn the schooner J. M. Chapman into a privateer. Their goal was to raid ships on the Pacific coast carrying gold and silver. However, their plan was discovered. On March 15, the night they planned to leave, they were arrested by the Cyane, revenue officers, and San Francisco police.
Conspiracy to Seize Shubrick
After the J. M. Chapman plot, Union officials along the coast became more watchful. Papers found on the J. M. Chapman mentioned a plan to capture the Shubrick, a lighthouse tender. Although that specific plan seemed abandoned, the U.S. consul in Victoria, British Columbia, believed he found another plot to seize the Shubrick. He suspected the captain and some of his crew. He arranged for the ship to be taken back to the United States by a trusted officer while the captain was ashore. The consul also believed there was a plot by Confederate sympathizers in Victoria to buy ships and turn them into privateers, but this never happened.
Salvador Pirates
In 1864, the Confederate Navy ordered Captain Thomas Egenton Hogg and his men to board a coastal steamer in Panama City. Their mission was to seize the ship at sea, arm it, and attack Pacific Mail steamers and whaling ships. However, the American consul in Havana learned about this plot and warned Rear Admiral George F. Pearson in Panama City.
Admiral Pearson had passengers boarding steamers watched. When Hogg's group was found on the steamer Salvador, forces from Lancaster arrested them. They were brought to San Francisco and tried by a military court. The "Salvador Pirates" were sentenced to be hanged, but General Irvin McDowell changed their sentences. To stop future attempts to seize ships, General McDowell ordered that all passengers on American merchant steamers surrender their weapons when boarding. All baggage was searched, and officers were armed to protect their ships.
Confederate Commerce Raiding
The CSS Alabama operated in the Pacific for only a few weeks, capturing three ships. The CSS Shenandoah was the second and last Confederate raider to enter the Pacific Ocean. However, her attacks happened very late in the war, or even after it ended. She caused most of her damage after the war was over, capturing 38 vessels, mostly whaling ships.
When news of the Shenandoahs attacks reached the Pacific Squadron, Union ships were sent to hunt her down but couldn't find her. On June 21, 1865, the Shenandoah captured the whaler William Thompson. The captain of that ship told the Shenandoahs commander, James Waddell, that the war had ended weeks ago. Waddell didn't believe him without proof.
Finally, on August 2, sailors from a British ship brought news of the surrender at Appomattox, the capture of Jefferson Davis, and the surrender of the last Confederate forces. With this clear proof, Commander Waddell ordered all attacks on American ships to stop. The Shenandoah then sailed to Great Britain to avoid its sailors being tried for piracy.
Indian Wars in the Pacific Department
While the Civil War was happening, Union troops in the Pacific Department were also fighting various Native American tribes. The United States National Park Service lists only one major battle in this theater, the Battle of Bear River. However, many other campaigns took place.
In Northern California, the Bald Hills War (1858–1864) was ongoing. This was a long, irregular war against several tribes, including the Chilula, Hupa, and Wailaki. Union garrisons protected settlements and escorted supply trains, leading to many small fights.
California units also stayed in New Mexico Territory and West Texas. Besides defending against a possible return of the Confederacy, they fought the Navajo and Apache Wars. Federal troops replaced them in 1866.
In 1862–1863, California Cavalry units from Southern California fought in the Owens Valley Indian War. They fought against the Owens Valley Paiutes and their allies, the Kawaiisu, in the Sierra Mountains.
Throughout the Civil War, volunteer patrols from Oregon and California had several clashes with Ute, Goshute, Paiute, Bannock, and Shoshone groups. These conflicts occurred in Oregon and the territories of Washington (later Idaho), Utah, and Nevada.
In 1863, gold miners invaded the territory of the Snake Indians, leading to the Snake War. Volunteers from California, Oregon, and Washington Territory fought the Snake Indians until Federal troops took over in late 1865. The war continued until 1868.
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